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Egypt's main benchmark tumbled to a three-week low after the chairman of Citadel Capital (CCAP.CA: Quote) was banned from leaving the country, while Kuwait's benchmark fell after the death of the Kharafi Group's chairman.

In a statement released after the close of trade on Thursday, Egypt's public prosecutor ordered that Citadel Chairman Ahmed Heikal be banned from travel pending a probe into corruption allegations. [ID:nLDE73D1Y7]

Egypt's index .EGX30 lost 3.4 percent, also weighed by EFG-Hermes, after Sherif Cararah, a board member and head of brokerage, resigned. [ID:nWEB4823] The bank fell 4.5 percent.

Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Sunday the world oil market was oversupplied and that the kingdom had reduced production in March due to weak crude demand.

Oil consumers have urged OPEC to quickly add supply to the market to quell the rally in crude prices that has taken oil to its highest level in two and a half years amid unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.

Other OPEC ministers have insisted the market is well supplied and there is nothing the group can do to stop prices from going higher while there is not unmet demand for crude.

The DFM General Index advanced less than 0.1 percent to 1,623 at 10:02 a.m. in Dubai, surpassing the 20 percent threshold some investors consider as the beginning of a bull market.

The index declined 4.6 percent in the first quarter, reaching a low of 1,352.24 on March 3, after uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa that ousted Egypt and Tunisia’s leaders reached the Persian Gulf states of Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Nasser Mohammad Abdul Muhsin Al Khorafi died early Sunday morning in Cairo of a heart attack at the age of 67.

Born in 1944, Al Khorafi is one of the leading Kuwaiti businessmen. His father also was part in starting the family business. Nasser is the brother of the current head of Kuwaiti parliament Jassem Al Khorafi.

Nasser headed the conglomerate Al Khorafi Group which as established in 1967. It consists of numerous companies that are involved in construction, petrochemicals , and energy industries.

Crude oil prices may increase on speculation unrest in the Middle East will curb exports as Saudi Arabia reduces production, a Bloomberg News survey showed.

Fifteen of 33 analysts, or 45 percent, forecast crude oil will increase through April 21. Nine respondents, or 27 percent, predicted prices will decline and nine projected little change. Last week, 49 percent of respondents said futures would gain.

Prices have advanced 18 percent this year as unrest spread from Tunisia to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria. Iran may be helping Syria’s government suppress political protests, U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said yesterday in Washington. Human Rights Watch said in an April 12 report that at least 130 people have been killed in the Syrian crackdown.

The United Kingdom Bribery Act has generated considerable discussion within the foreign community in Qatar as it has implications not only for individuals and commercial organisations operating inside the United Kingdom, but also for British and foreign companies engaging in business transactions on an international scale.

Although the explanatory notes that accompanied the Act were useful, they did not provide sufficient clarity in respect of certain aspects of the Act. In anticipation of the impending implementation of the Act on 1 July 2011, the United Kingdom ministry of justice recently produced guidance aimed at clarifying areas of ambiguity introduced by the Act.

We have commented on the content of the Act in previous articles, and accordingly this article focuses on certain clarifications provided in the Guidance.